IN MEMORY OF TEDD ROBINSON

We were deeply moved to hear that the National Arts Centre’s flag will fly at half mast in honour of renowned choreographer, performer, and mentor, Tedd Robinson. It is with heavy hearts that the School of Contemporary Dancers mourns this extraordinary man.

Following in the footsteps of Rachel Browne, who established the first contemporary dance company in Canada, Tedd performed with and choreographed for Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers in his early years. During his years as Artistic Director of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, Tedd took the company to new levels of recognition and worked in close relationship with the School of Contemporary Dancers. He continued his relationships with the company and the School over many decades. In 2008 and 2014, Tedd created full length works for the Professional Program of The School of Contemporary Dancers in collaboration with the National Contemporary Dance Arts Training Programs for presentation at The Canada Dance Festivals 2008 and 2014.

We send our deepest sympathies to his family and all who knew and loved him.

Odette Heyn: Co-Director, Faye Thomson: Co-Director, Stephanie Ballard: Artist in Residence, Gaile Petursson-Hiley: Artistic Associate, and all of us here at The School of Contemporary Dancers

 

 

PROMOTING EQUITY & ACCESSIBILITY IN THE ART FORM

SCD is currently developing numerous initiatives to promote accessibility and engagement of Indigenous, racialized, and other marginalized groups. We are committed to building on policies that promote accessibility to arts training as a foundation for increasing diversity in the art form.

• The Professional Program presents several public school tours annually to connect with inner-city schools that have high Indigenous and racialized student enrollment.
• SCD has established partnerships with Sisler Highschool and Hugh John MacDonald School, offering in-school workshops and SCD tuition scholarships to Indigenous and racialized students. Recipients of our tuition scholarship awards for our General Program and Junior Program are selected by these public schools.
• Graduates of these schools who progress on into our Professional Program are awarded annual tuition scholarships during their years in the Professional Program.
• In the Professional Program, we support mentorships for our Indigenous students when desired.
• We engage several artists from Indigenous and racialized communities annually as faculty and guest faculty. This enriches training for all students and provides role models for BIPOC students. Approximately 25% of our faculty are from Indigenous or racialized communities, including one of our Co-Directors. In addition, approximately 25% of our faculty are from the LGBTQ community.
• Our Dance Legacy course features interviews with several BIPOC artists to instill a deeper understanding of their unique challenges and important contributions.
• We promote relationships and collaborations with several professional companies under the artistic direction of BIPOC artists.